Are you experiencing sewer gas odors inside or outside your home or business? It may be time to test for sewer gas with a smoke test! A sewer smoke test can conveniently locate the source of the sewer odor, so we can fix the source of the sewer gas leak. It’s a simple yet effective way to detect sewer gas.

Here’s how we test for sewer gas with smoke…

Often, the smell from a sewer is traced to irregularly used drains with dried up traps. Sometimes it’s the cracking or wearing down of a pipe. Or a tree root cracks and enters the pipe. They are hard to find. That is exactly why we make use of visual proof with a sewer gas test.

Smoke Testing involves your Rocket Plumber grabbing his high tech tools, safely blowing air and smoke into the sewer system to detect sewer gas. This sewer gas test allows us to identify and locate the source of leaks in the sewer system.

Sharing many similarities with how we rely on our inspection camera system for undeniable visual confirmation…

Smoke testing takes the guesswork out of finding gas leaks.

The use of this system to test for sewer gas reveals as much as a hairline crack in a pipe, which can be out of sight in hard to get areas like beneath the floor or behind a wall. Such cracks are almost undetectable except with the use of a smoke test machine, which uses cutting edge technology to detect sewer gas leaks from the smallest of openings.

The tools every Rocket Plumber uses in this case safely puts smoke under pressure to file the sewer line and all connections. This test for sewer gas is 100% predictable, as smoke always follows the path of least resistance. It creates a visual confirmation of the source of the leak (if any) and where on the pipes that leak is present in or outside the building.

You can literally see where the gas is escaping gas is escaping in this type of sewer gas test.

And that’s huge. Because the presence of odor can alert you to the problem before it becomes extremely costly by neglecting the symptom.

The odor problem can be a sign of a cracked, broken, or collapsed sewer pipe. In fact, it’s number one on our list of warning signs that we use when considering whether to perform a sewer gas test:

• Strong sewer odor
• Toilet that gurgles
• Drains that take long to clear
• Regular sewage backup in toilet or tub
• Mold or mildew growing on your ceilings or walls
• Walls beginning to crack
• Invasion of pests in the home
• Greener-than-usual patches on your lawn
• Lawn or pavers that show indentations
• Sewage pooling in your lawn

Call Rocket Plumbing to have us check your plumbing system if you suspect a gas or sewer leak, and we will show you the whole time how we use our smoke tools conveniently and safely to detect sewer gas.

Fear you have a water leak, need water leak detection? Let’s reprint for you here our proven tried and true practical tips for leak detection on your own until one of our Chicago plumbers can come by…

• Check the water bill: A family of four will typically use 12,000 gallons (16 cubic feet) per month. Usage in excess of this amount indicates a likely leak. (Your results may vary!)
• Check toilets: Warn-out flappers are a primary water waster. Listen for toilets that refill between flushes. Here is a terrific visual tip: Find slow leaks by dropping food coloring in tanks; if the bowl takes color without a flush, you can be sure there’s a leak.
• Check interior faucets: Drips from sink and tub faucets, and shower heads, are easy to spot, but often ignored. Repair or replace warn parts to curb water-wasting drips. (And lower your water bills!)
• Look outside: Outside hose or irrigation system leaks are often overlooked. Check for drips and moist ground during dry weather to find preventable leaks. Some leaks can happen under ground where the pipes to your home travel to the curb. Look for areas over those pipes to see if the grass grows much faster than surrounding areas of the lawn.
• Get a digital leak detection system installed: The plumbing industry is being changed by mobile computer technology just as any other industry.

A flow-based leak detection device, such as that offered from flologic.com will detect leaks as small as a drip per second and automatically shut them off right from your iPad or mobile phone. While the primary function of FloLogic is to prevent property damage, it has the added benefit of flagging hidden leaks to save natural resources and money on water bills. (We are seeing more and more of these projects, and so far, we are very impressed with them!)

Call Rocket Plumbing to have the leak detection done right with better technology.